It’s the first day you wake up to rain beating against the window and it continues to drizzle all day long. It’s the first day you realize you should have brought a jacket as there’s a little nip in the air. It’s taking a deep breath and noticing the crispness in the air. It’s the first snow on the mountains.
Fall is coming, and all these things signal it’s impending arrival.
Last week I was lucky enough to be able to get out on the water with Rod King of The Bozeman Angler. We were floating at the tail end of a three day rainy spell, and it was really the first day that it truly felt like fall. Getting ready at the boat ramp in the morning, the clouds lifted just enough to reveal a healthy dose of snow up high on the peaks. As we threw streamers all day, the talk kept shifting toward bugling elk and chasing pheasants.
The fishing wasn’t great, but we were able to turn a number of decent browns on big streamers. Rod connected with one good sized brown that was already starting to color up in fall spawning colors. Yet another sign that fall is damn close…
Town is noticeably quieter these days as the bulk of the tourists have gone home. People have started to wear more jackets and coats in the chill of the morning. At the shop, all of a sudden we are selling more streamers and sink tips.
The signs of fall are everywhere. It won’t be long now.
